OSHWA Releases Open Source Hardware Certification

by Ben Pearson

October 13th, 2016

At the Open Hardware Summit in Portland last week, the Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) announced the release of a new certification for open hardware. The purpose is to “provide an easy and straightforward way for producers to indicate that their products meet a uniform and well-defined standard for open-source compliance, benefiting both creators and consumers of these products.”

OSHWA has outlined 6 requirements for this certification:

Create products that comply with the community written open source hardware definition hosted by OSHWA.

Ensure that all of the creator’s own contributions to an open source product using the certification mark are shared as open source in accordance with the agreement and these requirements.

Ensure all parts within the creator’s control are open source. Use best efforts to distinguish any third-party proprietary components. Third-party components such as chips must have fully accessible and shareable datasheets for hardware to be considered open source.

Self-certify each project into the program by completing the online license form and responding to yearly renewal requests.

Register with OSHWA each unique product bearing the Certification Mark, and otherwise abide by the usage guidelines.